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April 2014

04/28/2014

For the most part lawmakers in Virginia have avoided entertaining the notion of a government shutdown. This despite a prolonged stalemate over the future of Medicaid in the state.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Senate Democrats insist on a budget that includes an expansion of the program, House Republicans refuse to pass a budget that includes more Medicaid.

While both sides have accused the other of pushing the situation to the brink of a shutdown, this weekend Senator Donald McEachin (D) told the Times-Dispatch that Senate Democrats may be willing to hold off past the June 30th deadline.

“If that means we have to go past June 30, then so be it,” McEachin said. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if that’s what it takes, so be it.”

House Republicans pounced on McEachin's vieled threat and said it proves that Democrats are holding the entire budget process hostage for the sole purpose of expanding Medicaid.

But while Senate Democrats are talking tough, Monday morning the governor promised that a shutdown won't happen.

"Let me be crystal clear. I'm going to do whatever it takes. Our government will never shut down," he said. "Let me be crystal clear."

Even though McAuliffe attempted to avoid the shutdown talk, he did not back down from his goal of expanding Medicaid.

"I'm optimistic, we have two months," he said.

The governor returned the debate back to the legislature. He said both sides have passed a budget and it is up to them to come up with a plan that they can agree upon. But he warned that the plan better including some form of Medicaid expansion.

"I have been compromising from the beginning on this," McAuliffe said. "It is now time for the House and Senate to do their work and compromise and come up with a bill that I can sign that closes the coverage gap."

But there is no real hope that House Republicans have any desire to pass a budget that includes expansion. Despite that rigid stance, McAuliffe vowed that government will never shut down.

"I have to do what I have to do as governor to make sure that our key resources are taken care of, so let's set that aside," he said.

A difficult prospect given the current environment. But there is still 60 days left to deal and anything can happen.

04/23/2014

Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie is playing it safe in the run up to his heated race for U.S. Senate against incumbent Mark Warner (D).

As the candidate dips his toe into a full blown campaign, he is sticking to talking points as he wades through a convention challenge leading up to the fall campaign.

Gillespie chose NBC12 as his first live local television interview and we got the chance to press him on some of the key issues voters will be using to make their choice in not only November but in the convention in June.

We asked him about the role of the Tea Party in his campaign, his thoughts on immigration reform and how he would vote on the proposed House Budget authored by former Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan.

You can see the full interview below:

Would he vote YES or NO on the Ryan Budget?- "There are things in Paul Ryan's plan that I think are good, there are things I would have some concerns about, but I think the most important thing is that he puts us on a path to a balanced budget."

He never gave us a Yes or N0, but it seems from his answer that he is not fully supportive of the plan in his current form. He attempted to use the question as a way to wrap the current Senate from avoiding presenting a budget of their own.

Would he support a path to citizenship as part of immigration reform? "I think we do need to come to terms with some form of legal status. But I think the people who have come here legally and played by the rules it wouldn't be fair to them to confer citizenship on people who have not done that. But I do think it is unlikely that we are going to have a mass deportation of some 10-12 million people."

Immigration is always a sticky issue for Republicans in particular. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) who is mulling a run for president ran into heat from the party's right wing for suggesting that some who enter the country illegally do so out of an "act of love". The controversy is not reserved to national members of the GOP. The Republican Party of Virginia's new Executive Director took all kinds of heat from immigration reform foes for taking a meeting with pro-immigration reform advocates.

Gillespie is trying to walk a fine line. Deal with the reality that is 15-20 million illegal immigrants, but stop short of offering full citizenship and instead create a new class of "legal status". We will see how that plays with the party hard- cores.

..speaking of the party hard-cores

Will the Tea Party play a role in his campaign? "We have the same concerns about the direction of the country. There is too much spending, too much government intrustion into our ecomony, too much debt, not enough in terms of our personal freedoms."

Gillespie used the Tea Party question as a way to tie Warner to Obamacare. Judging by the answer he is hoping Tea Party folks will support his campaign in big numbers.

This is just the beginning of a long campaign. We will have plenty of time to get this new candidate's take on a whole host of issues.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Henrico) continues to insist that he is not paying much attention to his upcoming primary fight against Randolph Macon professor Dr. David Brat, but a few recent moves suggest otherwise.

Cantor last night launched an attack ad against Brat, mocking his profession and accusing his challenger of helping former Governor Tim Kaine (D) propose a significant tax increase on the Virginia citizens.

First, here is a look at the ad:

In addition to the ad, the Cantor campaign unveiled a website designed to paint Brat as a liberal college professor not the conservative crusader he claims to be.

The attack line is not a new one from Cantor. His team sent out a fundraising e-mail shortly after Brat announced describing him as a liberal and tying him to Kaine. However this is the first public and targeting attack against Brat and one designed to specifically reach out to conservative primary voters who will go to the polls on June 10th. The ad was seen last night during the 10pm hour of Fox News Channel.

Brat called the Cantor ad an outright lie. He never served on a "Council of Economic Advisors" as the ad claims and he also said he never recommended that Kaine raise taxes to balance the budget during the economic downturn at the end of 2009 into 2010.

"Eric Cantor is out of control on this one," Brat said in an e-mail. " This is why I am running. DC has corrupted our language and our truth and our political system."

According to the website designed to support the ad, the Cantor campaign shows the resolution where Brat was appointed to serve on Cantor's "Board of Economists" in 2006. The web site then follows up with several Kaine moves as governor that occurred while Brat served on that board.

At no point is there any direct evidence that Brat supported Kaine's effort to raise taxes. The web site and the ad simply claim Brat made no effort to publicly rebut Kaine's plans.

But perhaps more important is the effort by the Cantor team to engage and specifically target Brat. In a recent interview with me, Cantor went out of his way not to acknowledge his primary opponent. To spend money directly attacking him in a primary indicates the House Majority Leader is taking no chances.

The ad and web site are not paid for by a third party group, they come directly from "Cantor for Congress."

Cantor is not one to underestimate any opponent. He has a substantial campaign coffer and is not afraid to spend money on advertising and campaign staff even when his opponents are considered lightweights. Usually though, his ads are all positive and tout his accomplishments. It is rare for him to take a direct hit on a challenger.

Meanwhile Brat continues to push Cantor to meet him face to face in a debate. Something the Cantor campaign remains resistant to.

04/18/2014

The McDonnell defense team will not be able to keep certain details secret from prosecutors, according to the latest ruling from a federal judge late Thursday.

The defeat concerns McDonnell’s request to have a trial separate from his wife. The ruling came in just before our 6pm news, and we break it down at the top of the newscast below:

Defense lawyers asked U.S. District Judge James Spencer if they could file information under seal – facts supporting the former governor’s request for separate trials.

The McDonnell team asked to keep the information secret from prosecutors, saying government lawyers would gain insight into the defense’s trial strategy. Judge Spencer ruled the information can be kept secret from the public, but not from prosecutors.

McDonnell also requested a hearing to dismiss counts 1-11 of the criminal indictment at 10:00 a.m. May 19th. The McDonnells are already scheduled to present motions in the Richmond federal courtroom that date

04/07/2014

Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Henrico) generally doesn't like to engage with his political opposition on a local level. It is rare for him to even acknowledge those who run against him until it becomes absolutely imperative for him to do so.

2102 was a good example. Cantor's opponent, attorney C. Wayne Powell labored through a campaign where he attacked the incumbent at every turn with Cantor rarely returning fire. The powerful House Majority Leader surprised everyone when he agreed to a debate with Powell, which received quite a bit of attention but did little to impact the outcome.

Cantor engaged even less in 2010. He turned down an opportunity to debate and his detractors, so desperate to troll him into a confrontation ran into a scuffle with law enforcement officials outside of a coffee shop in Louisa.

2014 could be different. Not because of the general election possibilities, but because of the primary. Cantor has drawn a respected, albeit not very well known, challenger in Randolph Macon Professor David Brat. Brat is well spoken and good looking. He appears every bit of a serious threat to Cantor and has started to dust up some enthusiasm from hard core tea party conservatives dissatisfied with Cantor's traditional, more blue-blood brand of Republicanism.

"It's time we elect a conservative, not just a Republican, to represent us," Brat wrote on his campaign facebook page. "Vote for Dave Brat in the Republican Primary on June 10th."

Brat is also drumming up headlines on conservative blogs and national radio shows by offering up full throated attacks of his opponent in interviews. He appeared recently on former WRVA radio host Doc Thompson's show, which is part of Glen Beck's "The Blaze" Network. Thompson is a long time critic of Cantor going back to his WRVA days and gave Brat a big platform to fire salvos at Cantor.

But for all of Brat's bluster, it is hard to assess just how much of it is having an impact. Judging by Cantor's muted response, not much.

I asked Cantor to respond directly to the heavy handed approach from Brat and he responded without even mentioning Brat's name.

"The people of the 7th district of Virginia aren't waking up looking at the jockeying by one person or the other or which side is up or which is side is down," Cantor said. "What they are worried about frankly is how they are going to make it through the month and if there job is still going to be there."

Cantor's district is crafted to make him difficult to beat. A primary challenge could be even tougher given the lack of attention it will receive and the sprawling area Brat will need to cover. As with any political race money will be an issue. Brat has yet to file a financial disclosure report for his congressional campaign. Cantor had close to $2 million cash on hand at the end of 2013.

Engagement will be a key for Brat and a big way to make that happen would be with a debate. A possibility Cantor didn't rule out, but for the most part just ignored.

"We'll have to see that when the election season gets going," Cantor said. "Right now there is a lot of work to be done on behalf of the people who elect me and to see if we can focus on solutions."

The primary is set for June 10th a date that may seem a bit far off, but for a candidate hoping to unseat one of the most powerful men in Washington, will be here very quickly.

04/04/2014

Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-Virginia) vetoed SB 236 a bill passed largely along party lines in the state legislature that would've codified the right for students in public schools to organize prayer groups on school grounds and display religious clothing, jewelry etc. during the school day.

The bill made it clear that students that independently organize prayer groups, such as the "see you at the pole" nationwide prayer event, would be able to do so. It was also designed to protect students in the event they chose to express a religious viewpoint in public forums on school grounds.

In a veto statement McAuliffe said a law in this fashion was not necessary and would instead infringe "on students' right to be free from coercive prayer".

04/03/2014

Language and perception are a big part of the fight over health care reform in Washington and it is clear Republican leaders like Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Henrico), the House Majority Leader, are working to change both.

Cantor remains one of the lead voices in opposition to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. He has been one of the key leaders to present, vote and pass 50 different bills that would in some way repeal or overhaul the law.

(Cantor at the Oval Office for the signing of the KidsFirst Research Act)

It remains good politics for republicans in deeply red districts like Cantor's, but polls increasingly show Americans weary on the idea of a wholesale repeal. While support for the law as a whole is lukewarm at best, many people would prefer changes instead of starting the process over from scratch.

In an interview with NBC12, Cantor avoided the use of the word "repeal", but made it clear that remains his position.

"We don't think that Obamacare can work," Cantor said. "The way it is structured by Washington telling people what kind of coverage they a should have is a sustainable type of formula."

But instead of driving home the point on repeal Cantor was quick to offer up that the GOP is not just going to say "no" to the Affordable Care Act, but come up with a better plan of their own.

"I'm committed to making sure that we present an alternative, that we present a health care reform bill that actually does address the real problems people are facing because of Obamacare."

It is not just Republicans fine-tuning their message on health care ahead of the 2014 vote. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), who is up for re-election is pitching a series of ACA "fixes". He is also emphasising his concerns with the law before it was even passed.

“Before, during and after the debate over health care reform, I consistently said that The Affordable Care Act was not perfect," Warner said. "Congress would have to revisit the ACA to correct problems for consumers and employers as this new, improved system was implemented.”

The law impacts everyone in America in some capacity. The candidates who craft the correct message going forward could be the ones who end up in power when the polls close this November.

Gabriella Miller is no longer with us. But the impact her short life left behind will be immeasurable.

Miller died from brain cancer, but before her death the Virginia girl became a one person lobbying organization. Her incredible charisma inspired so many to take action to help others.

Among them was Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Henrico). Cantor met Miller's family and got to work advocating a bill that would move funding meant for the presidential political conventions.

Capitol Hill is not a place where much is accomplished lately, but Miller was able to inspire Republicans and Democrats to get something done.

We talked to Rep. Cantor about that impact. You can see the interview below:

Gabriella was just one of the many topics we discussed with Rep. Cantor. We also talked about how the GOP House plans to address Obamacare in the future. We also talked to the Congressman about his primary oppossition in the upcoming election.